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Scarlet Street

1945

Fritz Lang

Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Jess Baker ...

8.2

14,594

Film noir. Drama New York, year 1934. Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson), a mild mannered bank clerk, celebrates his 25 years of service, but he is unhappy with his dead end job and his shrieking harpy of a wife. The only pleasure he finds in his life is painting, which he does as a hobby. On the way home from his 25th anniversary dinner, Chris sees Kitty March (Joan Bennett) being slapped around by a man, her slimy boyfriend Johnny (Dan Duryea). Chris ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"It seems a sluggish and manufactured tale, emerging much more from sheer contrivance than from the passions of the characters involved."	NEG
United Kingdom	Paul Taylor Time Out	"One of Hollywood's most tortuous and bleak visions of the delusive power of the imagination"	POS
United Kingdom	David Parkinson Empire	"It's not textbook film noir, rather, it's dark melodrama with a classic femme fatale and a lot more of black humour (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Variety	"Fritz Lang's production and direction ably project the sordid tale of the romance between a milquetoast character and a gold-digging blonde"	POS
United States	Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"Fritz Lang's most harrowing study of guilt and damnation (...) Strongly recommended."	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"The manipulation, erotic obsession and vulgar bad faith of this world is dashingly presented by Fritz Lang."	POS
United States	Jaime N. Christley Slant	"Fritz Lang’s great 1945 film 'Scarlet Street' strikes many notes to emphasize the emasculation of its protagonist (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Noel Murray AV Club	"Lang eventually refined his mise-en-scene to the point where he could articulate a character's interior state with a single shot."	POS

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